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Battle expected over water pipeline: Intertie would link two major canals by 2011

Posted by: Maven on January 23, 2010 at 8:31 am

Delta aerial #20 3.14.09From the Fresno Bee:

“Work is finally supposed to start this spring on pipelines connecting California’s two most important canals, allowing a little more water to be pumped for west San Joaquin Valley farms.

But the project, conceived more than two decades ago, is a prime target for an environmental lawsuit and delay — again.

The connection would be called the California Aqueduct and Delta-Mendota Canal Intertie, and it would be ready to use in late 2011, if it isn’t held up by a lawsuit.

Officials would use two 500-foot pipelines west of Tracy to send extra water to the massive California Aqueduct from the smaller and sometimes inadequate Delta-Mendota Canal — water that otherwise might end up in the ocean. That would allow more irrigation water to be stored at San Luis Reservoir — a piece of good news for farmers who have suffered severe cutbacks. … “

But don’t expect it to go smoothly:

” … pumping any more water — even a small amount — from the broken delta is too much, say environmentalists and fishing groups. They say the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s environmental studies for the project ignored many issues, including the dying fish populations and poor water quality in the delta.

They expect to sue in hopes of stopping the intertie. Their lawsuit in 2006 forced an extensive environmental study, which environmentalists and fishing groups say still does not satisfy the law.

“The environmental work is grossly deficient,” said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance in Stockton. “You can’t continue pumping more and more water here.” … “

Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

Here’s the Bay-Delta blog’s in-depth look at the intertie project posted earlier this month.

January 23, 2010 · Filed Under Central Valley Project, State Water Project (DWR)

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